She is not the next Michael Jordan. She’s not female Stephen Curry. She is Caitlin Clark, and that is more than enough. Since her junior year at Iowa, the Des Moines native has brought attention to women’s basketball through her record-chasing scoring bombardment. With her exciting logo-3s and ‘Where did that come from?’ passes, the No. 22 guard has brought in the eyes women’s basketball was looking for. And that brought in the Caitlin Clark Effect and Clarkonomics. Here are some numbers for you to note:

• The OSU vs Iowa Hawkeyes game where Clark broke Pete Maravich’s all-time scoring record stands as the most-watched game at 3.39 million viewers.
• The only two playoff games that the Indiana Fever played last season, averaged 2.2 million viewers. The entire postseason otherwise averaged 1.1 million.
• According to Dr. Ryan Brewer, Division Head and Associate Professor at Indiana University Columbus, Indianapolis’ local economy saw a boost of $36 million since Clark stepped in.
• Clark’s debut season equaled a 1300% increase in ticket sales.
• Moving into the next WNBA season, the Indiana Fever will have 41 of its 44 games televised, most national TV games for a single team in WNBA history.
• At least six teams have moved their home games against the Fever to bigger arenas seeing the sales potential from last year including the Chicago Sky, the Dallas Wings, the Washington Mystics, the Las Vegas Aces, the Connecticut Sun, and the Atlanta Dream.

So, it might be a given for many that Caitlin Clark will be mentioned when growth in women’s sports is discussed. And she has been. “The fire was going. It was burning. And it was burning brighter…but Caitlin came and she poured gasoline all over that thing and just took it to another level.” Sue Bird spoke on Clark when she was named TIME’s Athlete of the Year. But when the question came up again, where did Bird lean as her fiancé makes a statement on the growth?

On the recent episode of CBS Mornings, Gayle King asked, “Megan, talk about the explosion in women’s sports. ‘Cause it’s basketball, it’s soccer, it’s everything that we’re all paying attention now in ways that we’ve never have before, the last couple of years I would say.” At the same time, Tony Dokoupil also chimed in, “It’s billions of dollars.”

Rapinoe was eager at the sound of it. “You are exactly right,” she began pointing to Tony. But she wasn’t going to factionalize the impact. “It’s money and eyeballs. We feel like the world finally caught up to women’s sports. We’ve always sort of been here. We’ve always been exciting, whether it’s World Cups or Olympics or Final Fours, but the investment is there now.

“And that allows you to grow the business at every level from front office to the fan experience to paying players to the sponsors that are like supporting the whole business,” stated Rapinoe as Sue Bird nodded along with her, agreeing.

Being sports legends themselves, one thing that has mattered for Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird was women’s sports getting the recognition it deserves. “How can we be a part of really bringing women’s sports to where it needs to be?” being their mantra to bring more attention to the sports.

The Storm legend held the record alongside Diana Taurasi for most Olympic gold with five until the Phoenix Mercury GOAT did one better and raised the bar to a six. We have seen the national team bag a record eight consecutive titles on the very stage while the USWNT rose to prominence as the most successful team internationally.

On the collegiate end, Candace Parker took care of the dunks, Mississippi St. of the Cinderella run against 11-time champions, and Arike Ogunbowale of the clutch to win Notre Dame the trophy. Breanna Stewart winning four consecutive national championships and boosting UConn to its blue blood status once again. Angel Reese dominating the glass like it’s no one’s business and bringing the NCAA championship to LSU in her very first season with them. Caitlin Clark, almost single-handedly, bringing Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye arena back to life as she took them to two consecutive National Championship Game.

Indeed, the talent has always been there. The excitement has always been there. And now, there are eyes and money too. She wasn’t wrong. The numbers prove it.

In just one year, global revenue for women’s elite sports nearly doubled—from $981 million in 2023 to a staggering $1.88 billion in 2024. Currently, it is projected to reach a whopping $2.35 billion this year. Viewership? Through the roof. The 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship between Clark’s Hawkeyes and South Carolina drew 18.9 million viewers, surpassing the men’s tournament (14.82 million). The 2023 Women’s World Cup Final pulled in 12 million viewers on BBC.

And Rapinoe was right about the investment too. Brands and sponsors are finally seeing the value in women’s sports. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup generated $308 million in net sponsorship revenue. Meanwhile, sponsors of the LPGA saw up to a 400% return on their media investments.

So, yes, the foundation was always there. The growth was happening. But it has propelled in recent years whether Rapinoe and Bird mention it every time or not, it is indeed there.

How did Caitlin Clark’s effect go beyond the basketball court?

Clark had already proven she could change the game. Her rookie season in the WNBA had sparked a surge unlike anything the league had seen. Indiana Fever games became must-see events, with home attendance skyrocketing from 4,067 in 2023 to 17,036 in 2024—a staggering 318.9% increase. That kind of growth wasn’t just a headline; it meant an additional $415,008 in revenue per game.

And it wasn’t just Indiana feeling the Caitlin Clark Effect. Every team she played against saw a boost—an average attendance spike of 87.7%, with some teams doubling or even tripling their usual crowds. The Washington Mystics, for example, experienced a jaw-dropping 259.88% increase when Clark came to town.

Viewership followed the same upward trend. WNBA games on ESPN saw a 170% rise in average TV ratings, jumping from 394,000 to 1.2 million viewers per game. Meanwhile, Clark’s name was everywhere—articles about her racked up between 26,600 and 53,900 engagements each, and her Indiana Fever jersey became the best-selling item on WNBAStore.com, pushing league-wide merchandise sales to record heights. And she did the same outside the basketball world as well.

When she stepped onto the golf course for The Annika Pro-Am, she delivered the expectations. Her presence alone brought new attention to the sport, drawing fresh eyes to women’s golf and elevating interest in female athletes across the board.

Football wasn’t far behind in recognizing her influence. Clark soon found herself at the NFL Annual Meeting, sitting alongside Serena Williams and Eli Manning on a panel titled The Changing Face of Sports and Its Impact on the NFL. The conversation focused on flag football’s growing presence, particularly its inclusion in the 2028 Olympics.

But Clark’s role wasn’t just symbolic—her involvement carried weight. The NFL saw the power of her influence and knew she could help bring more young athletes, especially women, into the sport. The numbers back it all up. The fans, the media, the sponsors—everyone has felt the impact of Caitlin Clark and the growth in women’s sports as a whole.